Year-End MMA KO Honors Split: Ruffy Leads MMA Fighting, Murphy Takes Bloody Elbow

Two major outlets diverge on the top finish of 2025, with spinning strikes defining the season’s most celebrated knockouts.

Overview

MMA Fighting, published via Yahoo Sports, voted Mauricio Ruffy’s spinning wheel-kick of King Green at UFC 313 as its 2025 Knockout of the Year.
Bloody Elbow named Lerone Murphy’s spinning elbow of Aaron Pico at UFC 319 as its KO of the Year, highlighting the bout’s title-eliminator stakes.
MMAMania’s separate list also placed Murphy first and Ruffy second, reinforcing the split and the prominence of spinning techniques.
Both roundups spotlighted additional 2025 standouts, including Ilia Topuria’s finish of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 and Quillan Salkilld’s head-kick of Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 321.
Cesar Almeida’s early-year knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan and other highlight finishes underscored a year where spectacle and context drove editorial choices.